The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Freeport stakeholders yesterday warned that the city’s economy will be “strangled” without the resumption of night flights after Sunwing’s Saturday afternoon departure was halted until the next morning.

Magnus Alnebeck, the Pelican Bay resort’s general manager, confirmed to Tribune Business that the Canadian tour operator contacted the hotel at 6pm on Saturday evening seeking rooms for its passengers after they were unable to depart the island on schedule.

He was informed that the Sunwing flight could not receive clearance for take-off because it tried to depart after sunset from a Grand Bahama International Airport which, although now re-opened to international flights post-Dorian, does not have the necessary working lights to facilitate night flying.

“We got calls from Sunwing asking for rooms, and we accommodated 32 rooms,” Mr Alnebeck told Tribune Business. “We accommodated much more than stayed with us. I saw they were leaving early next morning [Sunday], and there was a big queue trying to get into the temporary terminal we have.”

He warned that Sunwing’s experience threatened to impact fledgling efforts to restore Grand Bahama to the tourist map following its disappearance for three-and-a-half months post-Dorian, especially since it could deter other international flights from resuming their schedules and bringing in much-needed airlift.

“In the short-term we’re not complaining because we were selling rooms,” Mr Alnebeck said. “That’s good for one night, but in the long-term it’s not good for the destination to have these problems. Of course things can go wrong, and we need to try and resolve it.

“We need an airport in the second biggest city in The Bahamas. I think when the airline has to pay for accommodating their guests, and the disruption to their schedule, they will say: ‘Hang on a minute’. Any airline hearing about these problems would have concerns. It becomes very expensive.”

Mr Alnebeck said that, with sunset occurring at around 5.30pm during the winter months, no further take-offs can happen at Grand Bahama International Airport until around 7m in the morning - almost 13-and-a-half hours later.

“I think it’s pretty rare in the region that you have an airport, four months after a hurricane, that can’t get its lights on,” he said, adding that the concerns extended beyond those impacting the tourism industry and wider Freeport/Grand Bahama economy.

“It opens up a totally different conversation,” the Pelican Bay chief explained. “We all know the hospital in Grand Bahama was compromised in the storm and is not working as it should be. If we have a serious accident on the island, we cannot medically evacuate as you cannot take off after dark. That’s a pretty serious concern given that we’re the second largest city in The Bahamas.”

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, said he was unaware of the delayed Sunwing departure when contacted on Sunday and promised to look into it. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Meanwhile Carey Leonard, the Freeport-based Callenders & Co attorney, revealed to Tribune Business that other carriers servicing Freeport have also been disrupted by the inability to fly at night. However, he pinpointed the cause as the need for more air traffic controllers rather than a lack of lighting.

“I can tell you that on Thursday night Western Air was held on the ground in Nassau for 40 minutes, and had barely taken off when they were instructed to turn around and go back to Nassau because they would not be allowed to land in Freeport,” Mr Leonard said.

“That left 50 people stranded in Nassau, and 50 people in Freeport. I’m told it’s a matter of getting another shift of air traffic controllers. We are desperate for airlift and I’m told the key is getting another shift in. If we had that we would not have had the Sunwing disaster or the Western Air fiasco.

“Freeport needs this resolved. Not in the next month; it needs to be resolved immediately. I don’t care what it takes. There’s really no need for us not to have night flights. This is really strangling Freeport’s economy. This is no way for business to be run here. It must be done.”

Western Air representatives did not return Tribune Business calls seeking comment.